It has proven to be desirable in many surgical procedures to provide structure to maintain a surgical incision in an open or exposed condition. Several tissue retraction systems have been developed over the years in response to the need for a means to maintain tissue out of the way of the surgeon. One such system includes a frame or support and a tissue-engaging portion.
Stays for use with such frames are known in the art and generally have a retention hook, a handle and a band. However, these stays suffer from one or more disadvantages. Elastomeric bands having a uniform diameter without hubs tend to easily deform and slip through the retractor frame notches, thereby allowing the incision to close. In addition, many of the prior art stays have handles and bands that contain openings and/or cavities in which blood and debris can collect. Such a stay is not autoclavable or reusable.
In addition, the rigid handle region of the traditional surgical stay acts as a lever arm, mechanically amplifying any forces outside the force vector of retraction. The lever arm force amplification increases the tissue stress and damage at the distal interface of the stay and the tissue. The profile of a rigid stay handle can impede visibility and fine surgical technique at the surgical site. For example, surgical sutures being applied to the surgical site will often catch on stay handles due to their heightened profile within the surgical site. Generally, an elastic stay can contour to the surgical site to reduce the overall profile of the retractor system's intrusion during surgery. However, a rigid handle portion is a region of the stay that does not interface with the tissue or with the retractor frame, thereby limiting the total retractive capacity of the stay. In relatively smaller surgeries, the frame can interface with the stay very near to the rigid handle.